Are UT Fans Being Unfair to Fulmer?

[I. Melvin]

After all, he's won a National Championship (eight years ago) and until recently has had his team in the Top Twenty, yet there are plenty of Vol fans who want him gone yesterday.

Are they out of line?

[7lives]

FCFS82 wrote: Lots of similarities between Tennessee football and Kentucky basketball. UT has gotten close to being in the BCS/title game but haven't made it back since 1998. However, Fulmer revamped his staff and I promise you, if Tennessee finishes 7-5 or worse this year, he's gone.




How many of Tubby's players have had scrapes with the Law the past two years?

Fulmer deserves all the criticism he gets!

[7lives]

I. Melvin wrote: After all, he's won a National Championship (eight years ago) and until recently has had his team in the Top Twenty, yet there are plenty of Vol fans who want him gone yesterday.

Are they out of line?



Is this an agenda and/or a "flyby" post?

This a veiled criticism of Tubby O. Smith!

[I. Melvin]

There's nothing "veiled" about it.

I thought it was pretty obvious that the situations are analogous and always find it instructive to look at similar situations without the emotional investment.

[sojourner]

FCFS82 wrote: Lots of similarities between Tennessee football and Kentucky basketball. UT has gotten close to being in the BCS/title game but haven't made it back since 1998. However, Fulmer revamped his staff and I promise you, if Tennessee finishes 7-5 or worse this year, he's gone.




Not sure they are that similar.

For one, Tubby disciplines his players when they mess up. Fulmer makes them miss the first half of the first practice.

Second, Tubby has never come close to a losing record. His winning percentage in his worst year is still over 60%.

I suspect Fulmer would be gone with a 7-5 record. I think he needs 9-3 or better.

[RCS]

If you are going to run a program full of kids that embarass the university you better win, win big and do it often. Winning does cover a lot of sins, but when you stop winning you stop getting the benifit of the doubt and those things start to matter. If you lose 6 games a year at UT it doesn't matter what kind of program you run you will get fired, just like if you win 12 you can do what ever you want, but if you are in between, having to put up with a bunch of thugs is alot harder swallow.

[CatScratchFever]

No, Tennesee fans are not being unfair to Coach Fulmer. There is no excuse to lose at that program. If he does not contend for a BCS bid this year, they should fire him.

[Blue4ever]

sojourner wrote: FCFS82 wrote: Lots of similarities between Tennessee football and Kentucky basketball. UT has gotten close to being in the BCS/title game but haven't made it back since 1998. However, Fulmer revamped his staff and I promise you, if Tennessee finishes 7-5 or worse this year, he's gone.




Not sure they are that similar.

For one, Tubby disciplines his players when they mess up. Fulmer makes them miss the first half of the first practice.

Second, Tubby has never come close to a losing record. His winning percentage in his worst year is still over 60%.

I suspect Fulmer would be gone with a 7-5 record. I think he needs 9-3 or better.


Third - at least Tubby didn't blame last season on his assistants and scapegoat them like Fat Phil.

Four - Tubby hasn't had to rat fink on a brother SECprogram to save his blubbery hide with the NCAA.

[RedandBlackATTACK]

Fat Phil deserves everything that comes his way. Years ago when Jeff Brohm was UL’s QB, UL played down at Knoxville. UT pulled ahead, big time in the fourth quarter and Fat Phil called a fake punt resulting in a UT first down and subsequent TD. UT held UL on downs forcing a punt and Phil ran a double reverse return resulting in yet another big gainer. On the same drive with about 4 minutes to go, Phil went for the first down (4th and 7) at the UT 42 and punched it in for another 6.

Typical Howard said after the game when questioned if he thought Phil was running the score up, responded by saying, “We couldn’t tackle anybody…No.”

On a side note, Vol Stadium just plain sucks. Seating must be based on having an 8 inch width backside and the corridors are not nearly large enough to handle the crowd. Forget about the restrooms, Stoll Field had better/cleaner facilities.

Reminded me of Ohio State’s Shoe Stadium where for years OSU expanded the seating capacity, not by adding seats, but by shrinking the size of the existing seats.

Rick

C-Bus